1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to musical instruments, more particularly those of the percussive type in which the sound is picked up by a microphone mounted on the instrument, itself. It further relates to a drum pad in which the conventional head may be omitted, but in which the construction and arrangement of the elements is such as to simulate the natural feel of a conventional head.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Drum practice pads which include relatively rigid support structure and cushion members thereover have been provided in the past as for example in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,926, to Bell and U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,520 to Andrews. However, these were intended merely for practice purposes rather than for performance and do not disclose any means for amplification.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,264 to Green discloses what appears to be a conventional drumhead having a sound amplifier connected thereto. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,188 to Scott discloses a practice pad in which an electromechanical transducer is substantially contiguous with the drumhead, and in which a speaker cone type pick-up is installed on the base of the body in order to pick-up the vibrations generated by hitting the drumhead.